


All is Shaken (Be My Safety)

by coatlicue



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: And love, But at its core it's about the Gang, Cheronica Friendship, Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, Core Four + Choni friendship, F/F, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, canon adjacent, choni
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 00:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14943806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coatlicue/pseuds/coatlicue
Summary: "She wouldn’t be out with him unless…”Toni nodded, finally catching onto Cheryl’s train of thought. “Unless she was being threatened.”-Or, Cheryl and Toni are there when Nick comes storming back into town. Veronica needs a little bit of saving. The gang sets out to help her out. (Just a story in which the kids are actually supportive friends).





	All is Shaken (Be My Safety)

**Author's Note:**

> this all originated from the lyrics
> 
>  
> 
> _But time comes to rest when you are by my side, it blurs_  
>  And I will follow where this takes me  
> And my tomorrows long to be unknown  
> When all is shaken, be my safety  
> In a world uncertain, say you'll be my stone 
> 
>  
> 
> from "stone" by alessia cara (and that entire song, which gives me serious choni vibes). 
> 
>  
> 
> **mild tw for implied sexual assault**

“Cheryl Blossom, agreeing to go on a date with a Serpent. I never thought I’d see the day.” Toni whispers to Cheryl as they step out of her convertible.

Cheryl half-snorts, a sound that sounds almost out-of-place from the redhead, and says, “Trust me, TT, nobody is more surprised than me.” 

“Well, I can’t blame you, Blossom. Nobody is immune to my charms.” While pulling the door to Pop’s open so Cheryl can step in before her, Toni smirks. 

“You think so highly of yourself for someone who is physically so low.” Cheryl says as she scans the mostly empty diner for a booth. Toni fake-gasps, stepping in behind her.

“First of all, a jab about my height is not at all classy. Second--” Toni stops talking when she sees that all the blood has drained from Cheryl’s face. The look on her face is reminiscent of that night at the Sisters, something like a wounded animal. A deer in the headlights. Toni moves forward to stand directly next to Cheryl. “Hey, you okay?” 

“He- I-” Cheryl’s breath gets stuck in her throat, eyes fixated on some distant object. When Toni picks up on this, she follows Cheryl’s line of vision. Veronica is sitting in a booth across from a boy Toni does not know, a duffle bag on the table between them.

“Cheryl…” Toni gently holds on to the other girl’s wrist, “Who is that?” 

The redhead is taking short shallow breaths now, her vision growing spottier by the second. Toni looks between her and this boy, who somehow evicts such a visceral reaction from her, and tries to make sense of it all. She doesn’t know who he is, but when Toni sees Cheryl grip the nearest booth for support, she quickly steps forward. “Hey, let’s get you out of here.”

Toni wraps a protective arm around Cheryl’s shoulders and sweeps her through the front door, ushering her back into her car. Once they are both inside the vehicle, safely away from prying eyes, Toni turns to her girlfriend.

Cheryl still isn’t breathing right. She is gulping in air in short bursts but it doesn’t seem to be helping. Tears brim at the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall. Toni leans over to pull both of Cheryl’s hands into hers. “Hey, hey, look at-- baby, look at me. You’ve gotta breathe, okay? You’re going to pass out. Just in, out, in, out.”

Toni guides her a few more times until the color rushes back into her face. “You’re doing great. Just keep breathing, okay? I’m going to drive us home.”

_Home._ That word incites a flood of emotions in Cheryl. She thinks back to Thornhill, the house that was never a home after Jason’s death. Then she thinks of Thistlehouse, which is warmer than it had ever been now that Toni has agreed to stay with her. The tears finally begin to cascade down her face.

When Toni hears the redhead’s soft sniffles, she reaches past the dashboard and into Cheryl’s lap. She offers her hand, palm up, to the redhead. Cheryl takes it into her own, squeezing gratefully, but doesn’t say another word until they’re back in their bedroom.

“His name - His name is Nick.”

Quickly closing the door behind her, Toni turns to Cheryl. “Oh?”

“We met a few months ago, before the merger. He’s Veronica’s ex-boyfriend, I think. Or one of her family’s old friends from New York. I don’t quite remember. He flirted a little bit with me, I flirted back. It was… fun.”

At this point Cheryl was stumbling over her words, and an uneasy feeling was settling in Toni’s stomach. “I went to Veronica’s parent’s open house and saw him there. He offered me champagne, so I took it. He put something in my drink, or that’s what they tell me, anyway.”

Her heart falling to her feet, Toni’s hand moves forward to hold Cheryl’s face. “Baby… he didn’t…”

Cheryl shakes her head vigorously, “No. No. I don’t know how far he got. I don’t remember a lot… just flashes here and there. But Veronica and the Pussycats stopped him before he… you know.”

“Cheryl, I am so sorry that happened.” Toni presses a gentle kiss to the redhead’s forehead, ignoring the urge she has to march right back over to Pop’s with the Serpents and teach that pretty boy a lesson about consent. 

“It’s okay. I’m probably overreacting. Nothing really happened to me, it could have been so much worse.” 

Toni grips Cheryl’s chin gently, “Stop, Cheryl. It sucks, what he did to you. It shouldn’t have happened. I wish I could’ve been there… would’ve taught him a lesson.”

In between dry laughter, Cheryl says, “If it makes you feel better Veronica and the Pussycats beat the living shit out of him.” 

And despite the severity of the situation, despite the harshness of what life has dealt them, Toni can’t help but burst into laughter. “Jesus… didn’t know Park Avenue Princess had it in her.” 

Then the color leaves Cheryl’s face again. “Oh my God, Veronica.” 

And Toni’s heart falls again. Now, she doesn’t know Veronica too well. Outside of History class and their excursion to the Sisters, she’s barely talked to the girl. But that definitely does not mean she wants her to be harassed or assaulted or worse. “She’s probably fine, right? I mean, she was meeting with him in broad daylight. There’s no way…”

“But why would she… I don’t understand.” 

Toni sees the betrayed look on Cheryl's face, and the anger swells up in her chest again. Why would Veronica, one of Cheryl’s so-called friends, voluntarily meet with her would-be rapist? “Maybe it was her parent’s doing. Let’s not jump to any conclusions, not yet.”

“You don’t understand… after what happened, she made them cut the St. Clair’s off. She stood up for me. And she said… she said he had tried to do it to her, too, the night before the open house. She wouldn’t be out with him unless…”

Toni nodded, finally catching onto Cheryl’s train of thought. “Unless she was being threatened.”

\---

After almost an hour of racking their brains for a plausible course of action, Cheryl and Toni are beginning to burn out.

“I told you, Toni. We should’ve just gone back to Pop’s when we still could.”

Toni scoffs, “After your reaction the first time you saw him, do you really think that would be a good idea? Look, I know you love Veronica, but I’m not willing to jeopardize your safety for hers.”

Cheryl lies back on the bed, her palms pressing into her eyes until she sees stars. “We can’t just do nothing, Toni. She’s come to rescue me three times now. I would never forgive myself--”

“Hold up, wait. Three times?” Toni sits up to look at Cheryl.

“Well, with the Sisters. She stuck by even after everything with Josie came to light. She could’ve left. I wouldn’t have blamed her. And with Nick. And… at Sweetwater River. 

Cheryl is visibly nervous, her hands wringing in front of her. “Last winter… I… was in a dark place. It was after everything about my dad and Jason came out. My mom was worse than ever. I went to Sweetwater River and I tried to kill myself. I only sent a message to Veronica. She came, no questions asked. Brought Archie and the gang with her to get me out from under the ice. She took me home with her after. 

“Cheryl, baby. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I don’t feel that way anymore. I promise, not even after Nick. Not even after the Sisters and everything they did to me, I never got that low again. I didn’t want you to worry.”

Toni wraps an arm around Cheryl and pulls her close, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you, Cheryl. It just makes me appreciate how far you’ve come and how much you’ve been through.”

Cheryl looks up, locking eyes with Toni. Their gazes are all openness and an unbelievable sweetness. “Thanks, Toni. But you understand, right? I can’t just let this go. Not after everything. We need to do something.” 

Toni nods, sensing that Cheryl’s conviction to help her friend stems from how much of that friendship she has craved and been denied in the past. “Okay. Then we’ll find her.”

“How?”

“I have an idea. But you’re going to have to trust me.”

\---

When Jughead opens the door of his trailer, the last person he expects to find staring back at him is Cheryl Blossom. Toni was more predictable, but only slightly.

“Uh, hi what are you-- sure, come on in.” Jughead says as they usher through the door. Of course, they weren’t asking. Family doesn’t ask, and Toni was a Serpent, which made Cheryl family by extension.

“Jug, we need your help.” Toni says as soon as she’s far enough into the trailer that they can both stand comfortably.

“Uh, yeah, sure. With what, may I ask?”

This time, Cheryl steps forward. “I heard you know how to track phones.”

“...Yeah, I’ve done it once or twice. To help the Serpents.”

“Well this time, we need your help.” Toni says, brows furrowed in a way that lets Jughead know this is at least mildly serious.

Cheryl speaks up next, “Can you track Veronica’s phone?”

“Veronica-- Why would I…?” Jughead mutters. It’s no secret that he’s not Veronica’s biggest fan. She’s rich and privileged and, in his opinion, a bad friend to Betty. But she is Betty’s best friend, despite the arguments they have every other week.

“We… think she might be in danger.” Toni is reluctant to disclose any more information, afraid of saying something that Cheryl doesn’t want Jughead to know.

“Yeah, hacking phones is a federal crime, so you’re gonna have to give me more than that, T. 

“We saw her at Pop’s with Nick.” Cheryl’s voice shakes slightly, “She hasn’t answered the phone. 

Of course, Betty had told Jughead about what happened with Nick at the open house. When he saw Cheryl at the drag race a few days later, he had searched her face for any kind of trauma but had found none, only a quiet sort of desperation in her eyes that would’ve been missed had he blinked a second earlier.

 Now, he was not Veronica’s biggest fan. But to see that desperation in her eyes was something he didn’t want. So he nodded to Cheryl and said, “Alright. Let’s get to work then.”

 It was about an hour later when he finally managed to crack Veronica’s location. When he saw it, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Guys, we should call someone.”

 Cheryl panics slightly, “Why? What is it? Where is she?”

 “She’s at the Four Seasons.”

 And all their hearts do a collective drop.

\---

When Betty hears about Veronica, her first instinct is to say, “Why aren’t we calling the police?”

Cheryl scoffs, “Yes, because Sheriff Keller was so useful when I filed a report about Nick. He’s not going to do shit and you know it. Teenagers are better at solving crimes in this town than he is.”

Betty sits on the couch in Jughead’s trailer, fear making her veins run cold. “You’re right. Where’s Archie?”

And suddenly everyone is aware of the gaping hole in this room. Jughead speaks up first, “I don’t know. I called him. It went straight to voicemail.”

“You fucking idiot.” Cheryl says. “Why would it be good to know that Veronica is meeting with Nick when, coincidentally, Archie is missing? Did your pea-sized brain not think to mention that?”

“Babe.” Toni says, moving forward to place a gentle hand on Cheryl’s shoulder. “I know you’re scared, Cher. We all are. But it was an honest mistake.”

The redhead takes in a sharp breath, “You’re right. I’m sorry, Jughead.”

“No, no, you’re right. So, what, Archie got kidnapped? Do you think he’s holding that over Veronica to get her to meet with him?”

Toni nods, “That makes sense. I don’t think she would do it otherwise. And Archie definitely wouldn’t let her.”

Betty looks towards her, “You’re right. So, we split up then. Cheryl and Toni, go to the Four Seasons and find Veronica. Make sure she’s okay. Juggie, you and I will ask around, see if anyone knows where Nick could be hiding Archie. He can’t be too far.”

Toni gives Betty a little salute before grabbing Cheryl’s hand and leading her out of the trailer, “Aye aye, captain.”

\---

Bribing the receptionist at the Four Seasons to let them in is an easy feat once Cheryl flashes him a quick smile and some money. It’s clear he doesn’t believe their story, but it doesn’t matter. He hands over the key to the room booked under St. Clair and the girls start running up the stairs. 

“So, what, do we just burst in?” Toni asks once they’re facing the door.

Cheryl shrugs, “I think so. We’re running out of time. I don’t have any other ideas and to be honest, I don’t want to be waiting around to think of them.”

“Okay,” Toni nods, moving forward to unlock the door, “Just stay behind me.”

Cheryl doesn’t know exactly what she was expecting to find when she opened the door, but Veronica standing over an unconscious Nick’s body wasn’t it. She looks like something ripped out of an action movie-- strong and fierce and larger than life-- until Cheryl realizes that she’s shaking.

“Ronnie, you okay?”

Veronica looks up, seemingly only now registering that they are in front of her, “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m-- I drugged him so he couldn’t… wouldn’t…”

“You’re shaking.” Cheryl says, moving forward to step over Nick’s body and press a gentle hand to Veronica’s shoulder.

Veronica shakes her head, “I’m fine, we have to...Archie… 

Toni moves forward to stand on Veronica’s other side, paying no mind to the boy passed out on the floor. She honestly wouldn’t care if Nick St. Clair were to never wake up. “Betty and Jughead are on it. Let’s take you home. 

Veronica takes a shaky breath, “But I have to--”

“V, they’ve got it, I promise. Let Toni and I take you to Thistlehouse.” Cheryl wraps an arm around Veronica’s shoulder and leads her over Nick’s body and out the door. Toni closes the door behind them, but not before kicking Nick swiftly in the gut with her boot. Just for good measure 

As they walk to the car, Veronica turns to Cheryl and says, “I want to take a shower. I need to-- I feel--”

“I know, V.” Cheryl nods, “I know.”

\--- 

Halfway through the ride home, Toni gets a message from Jughead that simply reads: _We’ve got something. On our way to Archie if we’re right._  

Toni leans over in the driver’s seat to look at Veronica and Cheryl, who are leaning on each other in the backseat, “Hey, I got a text from Jughead. 

Veronica immediately looks up from her spot on Cheryl’s shoulder. “Is he okay? Do they have him?”

“Not yet. But they’re on their way to him, kay? So now you can just worry about getting cleaned up, yeah?”

Veronica sniffles once, then nods.

Cheryl locks eyes with Toni in the rearview mirror and gives her a grateful smile before looking down at Veronica, “We’re almost there. Just hold on.”

As soon as the girls are inside Thistlehouse, Cheryl is running off to get Veronica, who is desperate to shower, some clean clothes. Despite the girls’ rocky past, she wants to make sure that she’s okay. God knows Nick can say and do things that cut to the core.

Toni is left alone, pacing in the living room. Again, Toni doesn’t know Archie. Doesn’t really know Veronica. But they seem to be Cheryl’s family-- Cheryl who has accepted the Serpents with open arms despite all of their shortcomings. So Toni is worried for her. For them 

“Hey.” Cheryl wraps her arms around Toni from the back, “Ronnie’s in the shower.”

“Hi,” Toni whispers, “How’s she doing?”

The redhead sighs, leaning some more of her weight into the shorter girl, “She’s shaken. I don’t know. I think it’ll help once she sees Archie, she thinks he’ll be mad that she met up with Nick. Like she cheated or something.”

“What? That’s crazy.” Toni turns around so she’s facing Cheryl, “He blackmailed her. He could’ve raped her!”

“ _I_ know that, TT, but she doesn’t. Guilt is a heavy thing.”

And Toni hears the desire for understanding in Cheryl’s voice. So she leans over to take the redhead’s hand into hers. “It is isn’t it?”

Cheryl squeezes her hand in return. 

They gaze at each other for a long moment, only ripping their eyes away from each other when they hear a soft “Hey” from behind them. Clad in one of Cheryl’s red silk pajamas, Veronica stands on the staircase, her hair still wet from the shower. She can’t help but feel like she walked in on something.

“Hey, Veronica.” Toni speaks up first. “How are you feeling?" 

“Fine…” Veronica crosses her arms over her chest. “Have you heard anything?” 

“Not yet,” Toni says apologetically, “But don’t worry, it’s only been about twenty minutes. I’m sure they’re on their way.”

As soon as the words are out of Toni’s mouth, there is a knock on the door. Cheryl rushes to answer it, gasping when she sees Jughead with a battered Archie slung over his shoulder. Veronica is quick to run past Cheryl when she sees Archie’s bruised up form.

“Archie!”

The redhead in question grunts in response, doing something which maybe would have looked like a smile if one half of his face wasn’t bashed in. Veronica rushed forward to take him in her arms. They stayed there for a few seconds, just hugging each other, unaware of the other two couples watching them. 

Toni leaned into Cheryl, probably inappropriately thankful that it was Archie and not Cheryl who was bruised and battered in the room. Jughead wrapped an arm around Betty, who had walked into the reunion scene, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Once they broke apart, Cheryl turned to the gang and said, “Why don’t we all get settled in for the night?”

And Toni looked over at her, unbelievably proud of the redhead for the compassion that she has learned to show the people she loves. Then she looks at the rest, all wrapped up in each other, and counts her blessings: in such a world so uncertain, they will be each others’ stones.

**Author's Note:**

> so i finally made a tumblr, @xiomarisol, so i can better interact with whoever it is who reads the shit that i write. drop your tumblr url below so i can follow you!
> 
> _please_ send me prompts for more fics in my askbox. i finally have the time to write again but am clean out of ideas.


End file.
